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Wednesday, February 22, 2017

“Black &
Green Olive Tapenade” (page 9) is an easy appetizer that can be whipped up in
just a few minutes, and is especially good if you have access to a fresh olive
bar in your local grocery or natural foods stores. I learned that the word “tapenade”
actually means capers, one of the ingredients in this spread, and if you leave
them out, you’ll still have a delicious olive spread, it just won’t be
authentically tapenade.

It can’t get much easier than this – combine the
capers, olives, lemon juice, thyme, and black pepper in a food processor and
process until finely chopped. At this point the recipe calls for the addition
of olive oil, ¼ cup to be exact, to be added to the chopped olives and blended until
the mixture is a smooth paste. But I wasn’t at all worried about omitting the
oil altogether, after all olives are the source of olive oil, and chopping them
up in a food processor will release a measure of oil into the mix. (A quarter
cup of olive oil contains 477 calories and 54 grams of fat, so it’s no small thing
deciding to leave this out.) By contrast, 1 cup of black olives only contains
about 15 grams of fat, and ½ cup green olives about 8 (these are the amounts
called for in the recipe). This of course, if you purchase olives not cured in
oil. If you do, be sure to rinse them thoroughly first. You may want to add a
bit of water to the food processor while it’s running, in place of the oil, a
tablespoon at a time, to reach the desired consistency.

This spread is
very rich, and a little definitely goes a long way. It is excellent on fat-free
crackers, toasted bread, or stuffed into mushroom caps.

Keeping it
“McDougall Friendly” checklist:

Omit the olive
oil all together. Add water, one tablespoon at a time, to the food processor
while it’s running if necessary to reach desired consistency.

If your olives
are cured in oil, be sure to rinse them thoroughly before using.

Monday, February 13, 2017

Browning
tempeh oil-free can definitely be a challenge, and if you’re like me, you may
have to decide you’re going to end up with something a little different from
the original recipe intent. Such was the case with “Ginger-Peanut Tempeh”,
(page 301), which called for browning previously steamed diced tempeh in a
skillet using two tablespoons of oil. In all likelihood, this would have kept
the tempeh cubes intact, as intended, but what I ended up with was more of a
tempeh scramble, especially since the addition of each new ingredient required
more tossing and stirring in the skillet. Not a bad thing, necessarily, at
least I didn’t think so. This dish was quite flavorful with red bell pepper,
garlic, green onions, fresh ginger, peanuts, and cilantro, all seasoned with a
combination of soy sauce, sugar, and crushed red pepper. I ended up serving it
over brown rice, and thought it would also have gone well with mashed potatoes,
or grilled yams. Bright steamed greens
on the side made for a complete meal.

Keeping it
“McDougall Friendly” checklist:

Instead of
frying the tempeh in oil, use a very good quality nonstick skillet and
“dry-fry” it.

Use the same
nonstick skillet and a little broth, sherry, or water to sauté the veggies.